Actually, it is advised (especially for cats) to give vaccines in the back leg. That way, if there is a sacrcoma there is a better chance in removing all of the tumor. It is rare for tumors to occur from vaccines though. There can be bump reactions, but that is normal.

All the veterinary vaccines and medicine we have for our animals are there for a reason. Years ago when these things were not around, animals were dying young. I remember a story my father told me of when he was a child. His sister got a cute puppy from the shelter for her birthday. A week later, the puppy was really sick and ended up dying from parvo. I do think that we over vaccinate, I just think there needs to be a balance between the two. We should vaccinate, but not over do it.

Vets are constituently attending seminars and reading journals on these types of topics. It doesn’t matter when a vet goes to school; he/she is always staying updated with the newest data.

__________________ Lauren and Luna!

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She had an actual sarcoma??? That's a big scary thing with a BIG surgery to remove all the "fingers" of cancer and most likely chemo. Maybe it was just an inflammatory nodule? Those are very common and go away on their own.

Has. It's currently being tested to see if its currently cancerous or not. I don't think it is now but could be in the future when she is old. We may have to do surgery to remove it but are waiting for the test results to come back from the lab.

I agree with the person who says most vets push vaccines. It's a business and the more money they make the better. Not all are like this and Nyah's new vet said they don't carry any extra vaccines because they are useless (like Lyme, kennel cough ,ect) and said its a money maker.

Has. It's currently being tested to see if its currently cancerous or not. I don't think it is now but could be in the future when she is old. We may have to do surgery to remove it but are waiting for the test results to come back from the lab.

I agree with the person who says most vets push vaccines. It's a business and the more money they make the better. Not all are like this and Nyah's new vet said they don't carry any extra vaccines because they are useless (like Lyme, kennel cough ,ect) and said its a money maker.

I absolutely blame the local vets here for pushing over vaccinations. Law here says we can give three year rabies, but vets here banded together and will only give yearly. I refuse to go along with that, so I will travel out of state in order to get a three year vaccine if I have to, but the general public is never going to do that, so they are being forced into yearly rabies.

We also do a limited vaccine protocol as recommended by both our breeder and our holistic vet. Kea had her distemper/parvo combo protocol as a pup, rabies at 6 months, and we will be doing titers from here on out. The holistic vet believes she will not need another distemper/parvo combo until she is 6 or 7 (she's 2 now). We have never done bordatella, our breeder strongly advised against it, and after doing some of my own research, decided it wasn't worth the risks. We did have to take a letter to the doggie swimming pool from our vet saying Kea was healthy and we understood the risks, etc.

Regarding heartworm, our holistic vet recommended treating every other month instead of every month. She told me that during a veterinary conference back in the 80's when heartworm first reared its ugly head in Colorado, she learned that the heartworm parasite takes 90-120 days to mature. She raised her hand and asked why the preventative was to be given every 30 days, and was told that the 'average' pet owner is too STUPID to remember to give it every other month. Hmmm.

As I was researching all of this on my own after we got Kea, I came across a California breeder's website containing information about limited vaccination schedules as well as early spay/neuter that supported what my own breeder had told me. It looks like they're actually requiring their puppy people to agree to do titers...

(I have no affiliation with this breeder but I really like the info they've included on their site)

I should also add that we have a conventional vet who we absolutely love in addition to the holistic vet. I think it's important to ask questions and seek answers from more than just one person. The field of veterinary medicine is constantly evolving, and not every vet will have had access to the same education in every area (vaccinations and nutrition are prime examples). I've found that this is the best way to stay on top of the latest advances to protect the health of my furbabies.